Distance feels different when you care
1403 Words
Three weeks.
Twenty-one days.
Jessica counted every single one.
At first she told herself Aston was probably just busy. Work had always exhausted him. Long shifts at then hospital, sore muscles, overtime, sleeping half the day away afterward.
She tried being understanding.
Then the days kept passing.
Texts stopped.Calls stopped.
Even the random late-night flirting disappeared.
Jessica still checked her phone constantly anyway.
Every buzz made her heart jump before disappointment settled in again.
Nothing.
No “good morning beautiful.”
No “I miss you.”
No stupid dirty jokes that made her roll her eyes while secretly smiling.
Nothing.
And that hurt worse than she expected.
Especially after meeting her parents.
Especially after watching Aston fit into her life so naturally.
It almost felt cruel now.
Because she had finally let herself believe in him.
Jessica sat on the couch one Thursday evening while Carson played on the floor nearby. The television ran quietly in the background while she scrolled through old messages from Aston like an i***t.
Smiling at some.
Getting angry at others.
“How can somebody go from all this to nothing?” she muttered quietly.
“What?” Carson asked without looking up.
“Nothing buddy.”
Truthfully, she missed him more than she wanted to admit.
Not just physically.
She missed hearing about his day.
Missed the sound of his laugh through the phone.
Missed feeling wanted.
And what hurt most was not knowing why.
If he lost feelings, she wished he would just say it.
Anything felt better than silence.
Then finally…
Her phone rang.
Aston.
Jessica froze instantly staring at the screen.
Carson looked up immediately.
“Aston?”
She ignored the small flutter in her chest and answered casually instead.
“What?”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Jessica frowned immediately.
“Hello?”
A slow breath came through the speaker.
“…Hey.”
His voice sounded rough. Tired.
“Weird,” Jessica snapped lightly. “Thought you died.”
Another pause followed.
“Jessica…”
Now she was worried.
“What?”
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for being so distant.”
Jessica leaned back slowly into the couch cushions.
“For three weeks?”
“I know.”
“So what happened?”
Another silence.
Then finally—
“I’ve been sick.”
Jessica softened slightly.
“And nervous about you…”
Her eyebrows pulled together instantly.
“…What?”
Aston hesitated again.
“Can I just come over? Please? I’d rather talk in person.”
Jessica should have said no.
Part of her wanted to punish him a little longer for disappearing.
But another part of her missed him too badly.
“…Fine.”
“I’m leaving now.”
The drive felt longer for Aston than it actually was.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel the entire way there.
Three weeks.
He knew he messed up.
Every day he almost texted her.
Every night he stared at her contact.
But fear kept winning.
Because after meeting her parents… after seeing Carson laugh with him… after feeling how natural everything became…
Aston panicked.
It stopped feeling casual.
Stopped feeling temporary.
Jessica suddenly became something dangerous.
Someone he could genuinely lose.
And Aston already knew what losing people felt like.
Too well.
By the time he pulled into her driveway his stomach was twisted in knots.
Jessica opened the door before he even knocked.
She looked beautiful.
Which annoyed him immediately because he was trying so hard not to fall deeper for her.
Grey sweatpants. Hair tied loosely up. No heavy makeup.
Still perfect.
But her expression stayed guarded.
“You gonna stand there all night?”
Aston exhaled quietly.
“Probably deserve that.”
“You deserve worse.”
Fair enough.
He stepped inside carefully.
The house felt familiar now.
That scared him too.
Carson appeared from the hallway immediately.
“ASTON!”
Before Aston could react the kid already wrapped himself around him in a hug.
And just like that…
Aston’s chest hurt again.
Because he missed this.
Missed them.
“Hey buddy,” he smiled softly.
“Where were you?”
Jessica looked away quickly at that question.
Aston swallowed hard.
“Just sick for a bit.”
“Oh.”
Carson accepted that answer easier than Jessica did.
“Can we play games later?”
“If your mom lets me survive this conversation first.”
Carson laughed and disappeared back toward his room.
Then silence filled the house.
Jessica crossed her arms.
“Well?”
Aston rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“I didn’t know what to do after meeting your family.”
“What does that even mean?”
He looked at her carefully.
“It felt real.”
Jessica blinked slowly.
“And that scared you?”
“Yes.”
The honesty caught her off guard.
Aston sat down slowly on the couch before continuing.
“Jessica… I liked you before. Obviously. But after meeting your parents and playing with Carson…” He shook his head quietly. “Something changed.”
Jessica stayed silent.
“I started imagining things.”
“What things?”
“A future.”
That word alone made her heart skip.
Aston looked down at his hands while speaking.
“And that terrified me.”
Jessica’s anger softened slightly.
“I don’t understand.”
“I've lost a lot of people, Jess.”
His voice lowered quietly.
“And every single time I let myself care deeply, it eventually hurt like hell. So after that dinner I panicked. Because suddenly losing you actually became something that could destroy me.”
Jessica stared at him.
“So you disappeared instead?”
“I thought if I backed away now… maybe it wouldn’t hurt later.”
The room went quiet.
Long quiet.
Jessica sat across from him processing everything.
Aston waited for her to yell.
Honestly, he deserved it.
Instead she just looked sad.
Three full minutes passed before she finally spoke.
“Aston…”
He looked up slowly.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
Those words hit him harder than expected.
Jessica moved closer on the couch.
“I think about you constantly.”
His heart nearly stopped.
“And honestly…” she admitted softly, “I think about a future with you a lot too.”
Aston stared at her.
Real future.
Not fantasy.
Not flirting.
Real.
Jessica smiled nervously now.
“Like… maybe you moving in someday.”
Aston blinked.
“Maybe marriage eventually.”
He actually laughed softly in disbelief.
Then came the final thing.
“And maybe one more kid someday.”
Aston stared at her completely stunned.
Not scared stunned.
Happy stunned.
Nobody had ever said things like that to him before with so much certainty.
Jessica was talking about him like he already belonged in her life.
Like she wanted him there permanently.
His chest felt warm all at once.
“You really think about all that?”
“All the time,” she admitted quietly.
Aston shook his head slowly with a smile he could not contain anymore.
“You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
Jessica suddenly lit up completely.
Her entire mood changed in seconds.
Excitement exploded out of her like she could finally breathe again.
She jumped up from the couch grinning.
“WAIT.”
Aston laughed immediately.
“What?”
“When should we start trying for another kid?!”
Aston nearly choked laughing.
“Jessica!”
“What?!”
“You just said future!”
“I know but like… future future? Or near future?”
He shook his head laughing harder while she bounced excitedly in front of him.
That reaction alone flattered him more than she realized.
Because secretly?
Part of him wanted that too.
Not immediately.
But someday?
Yeah.
The image of Jessica holding another baby while Carson ran around the house honestly sounded beautiful to him.
Terrifying.
But beautiful.
Aston stood up slowly and pulled her into his arms.
Jessica melted against him instantly like the last three weeks disappeared.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair.
“You’re stupid.”
“I know.”
“You hurt my feelings.”
“I know.”
She looked up at him finally.
“Don’t disappear again.”
Aston held her face gently.
“I won’t.”
And for the first time in weeks…
Jessica believed him.
- Writer
